NBC’s SHORT STORY

Log

Based Upon Records from the Library of Congress

Researched and Created by

Jim Widner

 

 

SHORT STORY premiered over NBC on February 21st, 1951 as a half-hour program presenting a dramatizations of the contemporary serious short stories by American writers broadcasting from Hollywood. The short stories previously “buried” in Anthologies were brought to the public in each week’s drama. The series was edited by Hugh Kemp, script editor and directed by Andrew C. Love. Overall supervision of the production was by Margaret Cuthbert and Wade Arnold. The cast varied according to the script needs but Hollywood radio actors and actresses were used with a different cast each week. Don Stanley was the announcer (except where noted).

Note: This log was created after research at the Recorded Sound Archives at the Library of Congress. Please note my name when referencing  information from this log as considerable expense was made to gather it.

 

As a part of the NBC “College by Radio” Plan, Brooklyn College, New York, cooperated with NBC in offering a course in literary appreciation with “Short Story” as the core of the studies.

 

Series One: February 21, 1951 to July 13, 1951.

Broadcast Wednesdays from 10:30 – 11:00 pm EST

 

February 21, 1951     Premiere “Fifty Grand”

                             Writer: Ernest Hemmingway.

Story of the fixers and fighters and deals chiefly with a boxer who bets fifty grand two-to-one on his opponent and loses the fight by a foul.

                   Cast:

                             Wally Maher (Jack Brennan); Shep Menken (Doyle); Joe Forte (Collins); Ralph Moody (the commissioner); Fritzi Dugan (the girl); David Wolfe (Slater).

 

February 28, 1951     “Mr. Arcularis”

                   Writer: Conrad Aiken.

                        Adapted by: Gerald Noxon

                        An ocean voyage after a delicate heart operation.

            Cast:

                   John Dehner (Mr. Arcularis); Georgia Ellis (Miss Hoyle & Clarice); Tom McKee; Donald Woods; Jan Arvan; Lee Millar; Charles Davis; Don Randolph; violin music performed by Karl Kalash; organ music by Joe Enos.

 

March 7, 1951                   “Crazy Sunday”

                   Writer: F. Scott Fitzgerald.

                        Adapted by: Clarice A. Ross

                        A Hollywood writer has a turbulent romance with the wife of a producer.

          Cast:

                   Lawrence Dobkin; Lynn Whitney; Raymond Lawrence; Gilbert Fry; John Stevenson; John Wald (announcer).

 

 

 

March 14, 1951        “The Lottery”

                             Writer: Shirley Jackson

                             Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                             A story about a quaint old custom.

                   Cast:

                                    Charles Seel; Gail Bonney; John McGovern; James Nusser; Jack Nessler; Louise Lorimer; Jeff Corey; Irene Tedrow; Margaret Bryaton; Jeffrey Silver; Steven Chase; Morris King (folk singer).

 

March 21, 1951  Program cancelled due to special broadcast: United Jewish Appeal.

 

March 28, 1951        “Shadow of Evil”

                   Writer: James Aswell.

                        Adapted by: George Lefferts

                        The wife of a politician finally takes matters into her own hands.

          Cast:

                   David Wolfe; Donald Woods; Earl Lee; Kay Stewart; Marty Warren; Nestor Paiva; Shep Menken; Wally Maher.

 

April 4, 1951             “Honour”

                             Writer: William Faulkner.

                                    Adapted by: Vincent McConnor

                                    A wing-walker becomes involved with the wife of his pilot. Exciting end.

                        Cast:

                             Barney Phillips; Charles Anderson; Helen Andrews; Jonathan Holt; Lynn Allen; Paul Frees; Tom Holland.

 

April 11, 1951 Program cancelled due to special broadcast: Talk by President Truman

 

April 18, 1951           “Beautiful Summer at Newport”

                             Writer: Felecia Glzycka

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                                    A thoroughly miserable society summer for two young girls and their very stern governess.

                   Cast:

                             Anne Whitfield; Charles Seel; Dawn Bender; Hope Sansbury; Isabel Jewell; Marlene Ames; Martha Shaw; Naomi Stevens; Noreen Gammill; Norma Varden.

 

April 25, 1951           “I Want to Know Why” and “I’m a Fool”

                             Writer: Sherwood Anderson

                                    Adapted by: Bill Hodapp

                        The stories concern an American boy and his gradual “disillusionment” as he grows up.

        Cast:

                   Jerry Farber (the boy); Anne Diamond; Charles Smith; Felix Nelson; Gloria Ann Simpson; Gloria Grant; Joel Nessler; Junius Matthews; Lamont Johnson (announcer); Michael Miller; Robert O’Connor.

 

Broadcast moves to Fridays at 8:30 – 9:00 PM EST

 

May 4, 1951            “Keys”

          Writer: H.D. Boylston.

 

May 11, 1951           “I Am Not A Stranger”

                             Writer: James Street.

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

 

Broadcast moves to Fridays at 8:00 – 8:30 PM EST

 

May 18, 1951           “Kirsti”

                             Writer: Gladys Hasty Carroll.

                   From the book Head of the Line, the story concerns a blonde from Scandanavia who wanted to live in a glass house in America and manage things for her husband who is a pastor.

 

May 25, 1951           “The Piano”

                             Writer: Ben Ames Williams.

 

June 1, 1951            “Fifty-two Weeks for Florette”

                             Writer: Elizabeth Alexander.

                                    Adapted by: Richard E. Davis.

                   Cast:

                   Janet Scott (Miss Blair); Jack Kruschen (Brannigan); Jeff Silver (Freddy); Edit Tachna (Florette); Tony Barrett (Howard).

 

June 8, 1951            “Champion”

                             Writer: Ring Lardner

                             Adapted by: Douglas H. Stone

                    Cast: 

                             George Pirrone (Connie); Hy Averbach (Midge Kelly), Noreen Gammill (mother); Ralph Moody (Doc); Anne Diamond (Grace);

                             Inge Jollos (Emme); Gayne Whitman (Narrator); Lee Miller (Hap); Tom Holland (Hersch).

 

June 15, 1951          “The Leader of the People”

                             Writer: John Steinbeck

                             Adapted by: Jack C. Wilson

                    Cast:

                             Michael Edwards (Jody); Parley Baer ( Billy); Margaret Brayton (mother and Mrs. Williams); John Stephenson (father);

                             Ken Christy (grandfather); Charles Seel (Perkins); Charles Anderson (Narrator and Jordan).

 

June 22, 1951          “Ground Floor Window”

                             Writer: Ernest Kinoy

                             About a boy who has cerebral palsy and all he can do is watch the world outside his window.

                     Cast:

                             Don Diamond (Dan); Nestor Paiva (Mr. Gowar); Tom McKee (Skip); Eve McVeagh (Ruth); Constance Crowder (Ma).

 

June 29, 1951          “Doc Mellhorn and the Pearly Gates”

                             Writer: Stephen Vincent Benet

                             Adapted by: Sidney Gerson

                      Cast:

                             Earl Lee (Uncle Frank); Arthur Q. Bryan (Doc Mellhorn); Shep Menken (motorcycle cop); Grey Stafford (clerk);

                             Kay Wiley (file clerk); Lou Krugman (devil); Jerome Sheldon (Mr. Grew); June Martell (Miss Smith); Stan Waxman (Inspector);

                             Ralph Moody (Aesculparius).

 

July 6, 1951             “The Wanderers”

                             Writer: Ruth Suckow

                             Adapted by: Howard Rodman

                             From a collection of short stories titled Iowa Interiors. About a middle-aged minister and his wife who find a church in a small

                             town but are eventually driven out.

                       Cast:

                             Noreen Gimmill (wife); Norman Fields (Reverend Noble).

 

July 13, 1951           “They’re All Afriad”

                             Writer: Len Peterson (original radio play)

                             Simple story of how lower middle class life can result in an outburst of racial discrimination. “Departing from the usual format

                             of presenting a short story by a known writer, today’s presentation is an original radio drama written originally for the Canadian

                             Broadcasting Corporation, where it won highest awards as an example of “sensitive and adult writing for the aural medium.”

                             Theme is fear based on a feeling of insecurity in one’s job, one’s social position, standard of living, etc.

                       Cast:

                             Lee Miller (Arnie); Felix Nelson (Sam).

                            

 

Series Two: November 23, 1951 to March 14, 1952.

Broadcast moves to Fridays at 9:30 – 10:00 PM EST.

 

Series concept continues now with William Welch as script editor. Margaret Cuthbert is identified as the NBC supervisor of Public Affairs Programs and

Wade Arnold is identified as the Executive Producer. This second series was not part of the “College-by-radio” plan.

 

November 23, 1951   “O’Halloran’s Luck”

                             Writer: Stephen Vincent Benet

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    Story of a young Pat, whose father wants him to go into his own law office. Pat wants instead to roam the land and study

                             anthropology. The boy’s grandfather, Tim O’Halloran, sympathizes with the boy. Old Tim relates the folk tale about the way

                             O’Halloran’s luck always holds out using an example from his own experience when he started as a railroad worker in the

                             unexplored West against the wishes of the man whose daughter he wanted to wed.

                      Cast:

                             Dan O’Herlihy (Tim O’Halloran); Grey Stafford (Pat); Charles Davis (Rory).

 

November 30, 1951   “When Greek Meets Greek”

                             Writer: Graham Greene

                                    Adapted by: Earl Hamner

                                    Story about wartime England and of a fraudulent college called Saint Ambrose’s established in the city of Oxford in 1941.

                             The “staff” of the school consists of one man – Mr. Fennick. The college is a correspondence school with headquarters in a

                             Shabby rooming house. Mr. Fennick insists his school offers the same courses available at Oxford University. Excitement begins

                             when Mr. Fennick decides to employ a beautiful girl as an assistant professor.

                       Cast:

                             Eric Snowdon (Narrator); Naomi Stevens (Elizabeth); Donald Morrison (Mr. Fennick).

 

December 7, 1951    “A Letter from the Queen”

                             Writer: Sinclair Lewis

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                                    A satirical look at a scholarly economics professor who set out to write a book about a forgotten man who once made history

                             in our country. Once a powerful Senator, the man, now 96 years old, is living in a tucked-away spot in Vermont. The public

                             has taken for granted that the old man had died. The professor finds the man, ex-Senator Lafayette Ryder, a member of

                             President Grover Cleveland’s administration and friend of royalty. Sen. Ryder takes an immediate liking to the professor and

                             Plans to bequeath his papers plus enough money to live comfortably to the young man so he may complete the story the

                             Senator never had time to write.  Even the Senator’s letter from Queen Victoria is among the gifts he wishes to give to the

                             Professor. But fate intervenes.

                      Cast:

                             Scott Douglas (Narrator); Donald Woods (Dr. Selig); Stephen Chase (Senator Ryder); Florence Ravenal (Miss Tully).

 

December 14, 1951   “The Pot of Gold”

                             Writer: John Cheever

                                    Adapted by: Claris A. Ross

                                    A young couple so intent on better jobs and more money almost miss the excitement of living and loving. After twelve years

                             of frustration always just missing the “big job,” they suddenly realize that they have been chasing a “pot of gold” at the end

                             of a rainbow.

                      Cast:

                             Larry Dobkin (Ralph); Georgia Ellis (Laura); Vivi Janis (Alice); Ken Christy (Mr. Hadaam).

 

December 21, 1951   “The Transferred Ghost”

                             Writer: Frank Stockton

                                    Adapted by: Earl Hamner

                                    A ghost writer falls in love with the niece of the man for whom he is “ghosting.”  To complicate matters, a real ghost shows up

                             urging the ghost writer to make love to the girl instead of being afraid to speak his own mind.

                       Cast:

                             Earl Lee (Col. John Hinckman); Parley Baer (Ghost); Tom Holland (Frank); John Stephenson (George); Eva McVeagh (Madeline)

 

December 28, 1951   “The Trader’s Wife”

                             Writer: John Kenyon MacKenzie

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    A slave trader gives up the slave traffic when he takes his young wife into Africa with him.  The wife wins the love of the natives

                             through her human kindness and loses her own life to a jungle fever, only after she has freed hungry, miserable slaves held

                             captive by another trader. Atemba, a close friend of the wife and personal servant to the trader, stays with her to her death.

                       Cast:

                             Jay Loft Lynn (Atemba); John Dehner (Harford); Kay Stewart (Lucy Harford).

 

January 4, 1952        “The Rocket”

                             Writer: Ray Bradbury

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                                    Bodoni, a junk dealer, lives in the rocket age and wanted more than anything to take a trip to Mars via rocket ship. His life

                             savings of $3000 he needs desperately for the “business” will only buy one round-trip ticket to Mars. So Bodoni has his

                             family draw straws to see who gets the trip. As his wife and children draw the short straw, each finds a plausible reason for

                             not going so that the father may be the one to take the trip that means so much. Without telling his family, Bodoni buys one

                             of the aluminum “mock-ups” of the rockets as well as everything to give the appearance of a real ship and travel. He then takes

                             his family on a six-day trip to Mars unknown to them without ever leaving the ground.

                       Cast:

                             Stan Waxman (Narrator); Don Diamond (Bodoni); Margaret Brayton (Maria).

 

January 11, 1952      “Dead Man”

                             Writer: James M. Cain

                                    Adapted by: Claris A. Ross

                                    “Lucky” a young man living in the depression days of the thirties has tried all his life to run away from punishment, but

                             something always makes him return. One day, while riding a freight train, he accidentally kills a railroad detective and goes

                             to a great deal of trouble to make the murder look like an accident and establish an alibi for himself. When he reads that the

                             police have closed the case as one of “accidental death” he feels a strange compulsion to confess and goes to police to give

                             himself up.

                             Paul Frees (Lucky); Joseph Forte (railroad detective).

 

January 18, 1952      “The Seat of Violence”

                             Writer: Ben Ames Williams

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    Story about a man who hates his son blaming him for his wife’s death which occurred in child-birth of the boy. To make up for

                             his hatred he pampers the boy, who turns into a juvenile delinquent. A doctor gets involved helping the father and son see what

                             is happening to them.

                      Cast:

                             Jim Nusser (Narrator); Junius Matthews (Eban); Jerry Farber (Ellie); Ted Von Eltz (Doctor);

 

January 25, 1952      “The Hut”

                             Writer: Geoffrey Household

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                                    Story about British Intelligence and a Major’s orders to shoot a civilian French citizen who had collaborated. The older members

                             of the execution group cannot understand a callous youth barely 20 who takes “murder” without a qualm. Later they learn that

                             the youth had hanged himself after he assisted in the shooting of the collaborator.

                       Cast:

                             Robert Boon (Smith); Fritz Feld (DuPont); Lucien Prival (Alencon); Donald Morrison (Medlock); John Dodsworth (Virian);

                             Ramsay Hill (Col. Fayze).

 

February 1, 1952      “The Harness”

                             Writer: John Steinbeck

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    A prosperous and respected farmer is known for his adoration of his ailing wife, Emma. An old man, Peter, the farmer always

                             was considered good-looking and athletic. When his wife dies, his behavior seems to change and it is then that the other

                             farmers who admired him learn the truth.

                       Cast:

                             Nestor Paiva (Peter); Gloria Ann Simpson (Emma); Charles Seel (Ed).

 

February 8, 1952      “A Frame Up”

                             Writer: Ring Lardner

                                    Adapted by: Ben Kagen

                                    A young kid named Burke is a great boxer but won’t fight unless he is “stuck on” a girl. An ex-boxer sets the kid up to fall

                             for a “society girl” who it seems is writing him love letters. Burke decides to fight again. But after the bout, the girl disappears

                             and Burke never learns that his friend was “framing” the letters.

                      Cast:

                             Frank Gerstle (Narrator); Tom McKee (Burke); Jack Kruschen (Jack Grace); Joe Forte (Nate); Shep Mencken (Kid Howard);

                             Virginia Eiler (the girl).

 

February 15, 1952     Program cancelled for a special broadcast of highlights of King George VI’s Funeral.

 

February 22, 1952     “The Windfall”

                             Writer: Erskine Caldwell

                                    Adapted by: Earl Hamner

                                    A story of Waldo Murdock and Bessie, farmers who live near the village of Brighton, Maine.  One day Waldo receives an

                             inheiritance check left by his long-lost brother who died in Australia. The unexpected windfall only amounts to $350 but gets

                             everyone excited which leads to unhappiness and nearly breaks up the 20-year marriage of the farmer and his wife.

                      Cast:

                             Gayne Whitman (Narrator); Jeff Corey (Waldo); Gail Bonney (Bessie); Marian Richman (Justine).

 

February 29, 1952     Program cancelled for a talk by Dean Acheson.

 

March 7, 1952          “The Apple Tree”

                             Writer: John Galsworthy

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    A love story about a young Welsh girl and a college student. Frank, the student, hurts his leg while on a tour with a friend. It is

                             then he encounters Megan whom he meets on a moonlit night under an Apple tree where he falls hopelessly in love. Later,

                             Frank is prevented from returning to meet Megan while he is with Stella, his school friend’s sister. One night he is driving along

the road with Stella when he sees a young girl walking among the rocks alone.  Years pass and he marries Stella. They return

25 years later to the area they first got together.  He finds a mound under the apple tree and discovers it is the grave of

Megan who committed suicide by jumping off the rocks when Frank never returned.

                      Cast:

                             Dan O’Herlihy (Frank); Betty Harford (Megan); Elizabeth Harrow (Stella); Bertram Tanswell (Garton).

 

March 14, 1952        “The Darling”

                             Writer: Anton Checkov

                             Adapted by: Claris A. Ross

                             This episode was taped. The story comes from a book that was translated from the Russian by Robert Williams.

                             Olinka is a good, natural girl – someone who one feels he has known all his life. She forms no opinions of her own and lives

                             in the image of her current interests. First she concentrates on her husbands, both of whom come to early deaths. Then she

                             concentrates on the man she wants to be her next husband but soon turns to concentrating on his 12 year old son.

                      Cast:

                             Marvin Bryan (Narrator); Virginia Gregg (Olinka); Jeffrey Silver (Sasha); Mari Ann Kape (Marva).

 

 

Series Three: April 11, 1952 to May 30, 1952.

 

April 11, 1952           “How Beautiful With Shoes”

                             Writer: William Daniel Steele

                                    Adapted by: Earl Hamner

                                    A story about Amarantha, a beautiful young girl from the “Hill Folk” who is kidnapped by an escaped mental patient. Through

                             him she hears her first poetry because the man is also a student of great literature. The title originates from the Bible: “How

                             beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O Prince’s daughter. How fair is thy love. How much better thy love than wine…”

                      Cast:

                             Gayne Whitman (Narrator); Kay Stewart (Amarantha); Jeff Corey (Ruby); John Dehner (Humble); George Fields (harmonica

                             player).

 

April 18, 1952           “You Could Look It Up”

                             Writer: James Thurber

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    A manager of a baseball team hires a midget as the mascot. The midget finally gets a chance to bat as a member of the

                             regular team and the umps have to admit there is no rule against such a procedure.

                      Cast:

                             Herb Vigran (Scotty McGrew); Jack Kruschen (Slats); Sam Edwards (Pearl de Monville); Joe Forte (Umpire);

                             Harry Lang (manager of opposing team).

 

April 25, 1952           Program cancelled due to talk by Senator Richard Russell.

 

May 2, 1952            “The Biscuit Eater”

                             Writer: James Street

                                    Adapted by: Earl Hamner

                                    Story of a bird-dog and a boy who helps him become a champion and the hearbreak that comes when the dog is poisoned.

                       Cast:

                             Gayne Whitman (Narrator); Michael Chapin (Lonnie); Shelby Bacon (Text); Jim Nusser (Harve); Charles Seel (Mr. Ames);

                             Earl Keen (animal effects).

 

May 9, 1952            “The Old General”

                             Writer: Eric Knight

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    A story of England during the Blitz.

                       Cast:

                             Ramsay Hill (General); Norma Varden (Emily); Alma Lawton (Helen).

 

May 16, 1952           “Scuttlebutt”

                             Writer: James Michner

                                    Adapted by: Ernest Kinoy

                                    This was a LIVE broadcast. From the Tales of the South Pacific  it tells the story of Scuttlebutt the dog and the American

                             Navy. NOTE: At end of broadcast there is a program salute to KGNC, Amarillo on its 30th anniversary.

                       Cast:

                             Lee Miller (Jim); Whitfield Connor (Mike Bates); Earl Keen (dog).

 

May 23, 1952           “De Mortuis”

                             Writer: John Collier

                                    Adapted by: Jack Wilson

                                    A beloved doctor is caught in the basement of his cellar digging a deep hole and making a cement floor to cover up the

                             excavation. His wife, Irene, is gone and the two friends who caught the doctor jump to the conclusion that Doc has

                             finally murdered her. The friends tell the Doc they can’t blame him considering how Irene carries on in town. Doc doesn’t

                             understand what they are talking about but broods over the story. When Irene returns he invites her to the basement to

                             finish the job.

                      Cast:

                             Howard Culver (Narrator); Marvin Miller (Doc); Anne Diamond (Irene); Ted Von Eltz (Bud); Jeff Corey (Buck).

 

May 30, 1952           “Three Pair of Heels”

                             Writer: Neil Bell

                                    Adapted by: George Lefferts

                                    Neil Bell is a British author who describes the story as a novella. It is the story of a young man who is hanged for killing

                             three people. Just before he is hanged he tells his story to a newspaperman. NOTE: At close is a salute to station KSYL

                             in central Louisiana totally increasing its power to 1000 watts and moving to a new frequency.

                      Cast:

                             Dan O’Herlihy (Tom Cassidy); John Dodsworth (Harold Prescott); Ben Wright (Ben); Naomi Stevens (Freda).